Our lawyers advise on all aspects of transportation-related law, handling the full spectrum of transactional, regulatory, and litigation matters. Our clients in the multi-modal transportation sector include automotive, aviation, shipping, rail, and logistics industries. We take a multidisciplinary approach to working through the often-complex legal issues our clients face, including corporate, financing, structured transactions, tax, telecommunications, technology, labor and employment, and dispute matters.
With a significant presence throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe, we understand how to carry out large cross-border transactions and the best ways to resolve the legal challenges associated with multinational manufacturing, operations, and customer bases. Our lawyers practice extensively in international arbitration tribunals and have handled numerous other matters implicating diverse cross-border issues, ranging from US Foreign Corrupt Practices (FCPA) matters to citizenship requirements for maritime vessel crew members.
Our teams advise virtually every major automaker—as well as automotive component manufacturers, technology suppliers, distributors, and trade associations—on matters relating to all facets of a product’s life cycle, from patents through marketing, and represent some of the largest trucking and logistic companies. We have worked with the world’s leading air carriers and manufacturers on their most complicated matters, including restructuring, financing, and leasing deals. Our maritime clients include prominent shipping, logistics, and terminal operating companies, as well as investors and financial institutions focusing on maritime activities. In the mass transit sector, we have counseled a variety of rapid transit and bus operators. We also represent all elements of the railroad industry—rail operators and manufacturers, rolling stock leasing companies, banks, private clients, and corporations—throughout the world.
Transactions & Restructurings
A prominent aspect of our work for transportation clients involves handling sophisticated financing and transactional matters, as well as restructurings. We advise on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, capital market transactions, purchases and sales, financing and leasing, government contracting, and taxation issues. Our restructuring work has entailed advising stakeholders in all aspects of financially troubled situations, including repossessions, bankruptcies, and other restructuring matters around the world.
Litigation
We assist clients across a wide range of disputes, including those arising from aviation disasters, recalls, government investigations, and antitrust matters. We have successfully resolved liability class actions resulting from high-profile allegations of product failure. Our lawyers also handle dealer disputes, environmental compliance, tax disputes, and consumer protection litigation. In addition to representing companies in government investigations in the United States, we handle cases before international and government bodies of other nations, as well as before the European Commission. Among our lawyers are those who have worked extensively in international arbitrations.
Labor & Employment
We assist clients such as automakers to manage their sizable and global workforces. Our services in this area include advising on large-scale employee transfers, counseling on benefits and human resources issues, providing guidance on organized labor matters, and defending companies in employment litigation. Since this often means dealing with multiple sets of laws and regulations in more than one country, we put our global resources to work in service of our clients’ needs.
Regulatory Advocacy
Our Washington Strategic Government Relations & Counseling team, based in the US capital, is well-versed in advocacy on transportation-related issues. The team’s senior director served as the longtime senior vice president and chief lobbyist for the American Trucking Associations, where he was responsible for the organization’s advocacy efforts, strategic planning, public outreach, state affiliates, and safety promotion programs.
